“Such an excessive volume of air traffic control delays on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year is unacceptable,” the Irish airline stressed in a statement about its activity between December 22 and 31, pointing to Portugal as the third most affected country.
Ryanair says Spain and France were the most affected markets, accounting for 34% and 31% of delays, respectively.
Spain has the highest number of delays, with 1,098 delayed flights affecting 197,640 travellers, while France, in second place, reports 999 delayed flights, affecting 179,820 passengers.
Portugal ranks third among the countries with the most delayed flights (307), affecting 55,260 travellers from Portuguese airports.
In Germany, 242 flights were delayed, affecting 43,560 passengers.
“It is unacceptable that 600,000 passengers suffered avoidable delays in air traffic control this Christmas due to staff shortages at air traffic control centres in Spain, France, Portugal and Germany,” said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson, quoted in the statement.
The Irish airline has been advocating for reform of air traffic control (ATC) personnel in the European Union (EU), a fight it says has been forgotten by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who “ignores ATC delays/cancellations that restrict the freedom of movement of EU citizens.”